The Same NeverEnding Story
by KitCola620
Summary: After being forcibly betrayed by the only one they trusted, the Warner Siblings are left frozen in time inside their water tower upon being labled useless. Years later, a new CEO has taken over the studio and has a dastardly plot for their return.
1. Prolouge Part 1

_Witty banter, witty banter, witty banter...Lordy, I haven't done this in a while..._

_Oh, well. All I can say for now is this is my first EVER Animaniacs story. EVER. Mainly because I've only started watching it again a couple weeks ago. And yet for some reason I have this fuzzy illusion in my head that I'll do just fine. x3_

_Anywhoooo, I got nothing else to add. I'll put disclaimers and claimers at the bottom. ^^_

_Enjoy meh prolouge for now and I'll try to come up with something witty later. 0w0_

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><p><em><strong>(November 20th, 1998)<strong>_

_~Flashback~_

_Dr. Otto von Scratchandsniff could not get the conversation he just had an hour ago out of his head._

_The Animaniacs show had been cancled just a little under a week ago, so for the past 6 days, the psyciatrist had been looking after the three Warner children, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, a lot more often. He was actually pleased to report that while the kids remained rather crazy, they were able to tone down upon demand by this point and just yesterday, they'd actually gone to the circus with only one incodent of Wakko climbing on the giraffe's neck without permission. And seeing as he'd only caused the act to look even more impressive, he had been praised rather than thrown out of the tent...or entire circus. _

_The Dr. was rather pleased with the results, and wondered what his boss, Thaddeus Plotz, could want at such a late hour. _

_He remembered humming the familiar theme song to himself as he waited for the elevator to rise to his destinated floor. Granted, five seasons of it had driven him to insanity along with the kids and their antics, but after a while, he admitted to himself it was catchy and sometimes hummed it when no one was around._

_Eventually, he heard the 'ding' of the elevator and stepped out as the sliding, metal doors opened. He quickly walked down the hallway and knocked on the door to Mr. Plotz's office. He waited patiently for a few minutes before he earned a response._

_"...Who is it?" He heard his boss call out._

_His tone, however, concerned him. The old man sounded a little...well, he couldn't call it depressed...a bit saddened or melancoly, if anything. Dr. Scratchandsniff suddenly got a very bad feeling about what his boss wanted._

_"...ahem...it is me, sir." The dr. called back._

_"...come in..."_

_Reluctantly, he obeyed and opened the door, sticking his bald head into the room. The room was slightly dim, with only the small desk lamp on the desk providing light to the large room. Looking around for a minute, Dr. Scratchy soon saw the short, portly man standing at one of the large windows, staring out of his with his hands folded behind his back and saying nothing as his employee entered and closed the door._

_"...um...you vanted to see me, Mr. Plotz?" He asked unsuringly, his Austrian accent remaining thick even after the long series._

_There was an almost foreboding pause that sat for about 10 seconds. Breif, but it was slightly tense until the short man spoke._

_"...sit down, Dr." He ordered, calmly and softly._

_Reluctantly, Dr. Scratchy motioned to take a seat in the chair in front of the desk, but was interupted mid sit._

_"Please, Dr. Lets skip the formalities...take the big chair. I won't need it."_

_The Dr. stood in surprise, pausing for a moment to analyze what was told of him before he did as told, cornered around the desk, and sat in the big, cushy chair._

_"...well, um...vhat did you vant to see me for, Sir?" Dr. Scratchandsniff asked slowly after a long pause of nothing. _

_There was another long pause. To be honest with himself, this dark atmosphere was making him worry. Was he being fired? Was someone dying? Or worse...did the boss bring him up just to lash out at him over the latest failure? It made him rather tense, and he jumped when the boss spoke._

_"...tell me, Dr. Scratchandsniff. How have the Warners been for the past few days?" He asked rather calmly._

_Oh. That's it. It was about the children. The tension lifted seeing as the Dr. had good results to report for once. The Dr. sat up, quite happy to share with him the good news._

_"Oh, qvite vell! Ever since ze show cancled, zey have been behaving rather vell."_

_"...really?" He sounded disbelieving, but still calm._

_"Oh, yes! Zey are far more under control lately...vhy, just yesterday, ve vent to the circus and zey behave very vell! Vakko only climbed on a girraffe vonce! And zat please everyvone rather than it annoying everyvone! They're getting muuch better, sir." The Dr. quickly and happily stated, feeling proud of himself at long last. _

_There was another paused, but this one felt less tense. Mr. Plotz was probably analyzing that they'd succeeded at long last. At least, that's what the Dr. thought he was thinking._

_"...that's good..."_

_"Now, I'm sure that this is a lot to take in, Mr. Plotz...In fact, I understand if you do not even believe me, but if you vant, I will even go get the kids from the Vater Tower and show you! I'm sure they are not even in bed yet...it's only 6:30 after all..."_

_He grew concerned when his boss didn't answer for a long while._

_"...Dr...now that the show has cancled...what do you plan to do for the kids?"_

_This sudden question after 2 minutes confused him._

_"...Vant do you mean?"_

_"I mean I'm...well, Dr. I'm tearing their contract."_

_The Dr. wasn't too shocked or surprised to hear this. It was only a matter of time he kicked those kids out. _

_"...and without the acting career paying for everything for them, someone's going to actually need to take care of them...what did you plan on doing?"_

_This wasn't a short notice question, for the Dr. knew it was only a matter of time before their contract was torn and they'd need someone looking after him, and he had done some steady thinking about it._

_"...vell, sir...I had actually been thinking about..." He paused, unsure if he should tell him, but then quickly said it. "...I vas thinking about taking care of them myself..."_

_"Yourself? I thought you hated those kids..."_

_"...Vell, I did, but they ARE only children...I could not fault them for only vanting to play, really. And they have gotten better...much better. Besides, I feel like I'm the only one who really understands their zany. Zey vould be completely lost vithout someone who understands. So I thought about adopting them myself. Officially!"_

_"...I'm sorry to hear that, Otto..." He heard the man say saddly._

_The Dr. actually felt his heart sag a bit. What could he have meant by this?...was he worried because he thought it was a trick or something? He was a psyciatrist. What wasn't he getting? It must have been something serious if he used his first name._

_"...Vhat? Vhy are you sorry, sir?"_

_It was at this point the man turned to him. It startled him. His face looked slightly pale and a sick look of depression was washed over his face. Just by that look alone, he immediatly knew what the man was going to say...but he said it anyway._

_"...Yesterday, I had a meeting with the board over what to do with the Warners now that they weren't useful...and they all agreed that since the kids don't have a use anymore, it was best to lock them back up in the Water Tower...for good." _

_The psyciatrist immediatly stood up, appauled by the news. Lock up the children when they became useless? He had figured they were trying to lock them up because they were insane! But he had just started licking them and they even started behaving like slightly normal children...with a high case of ADD. And now they were suggesting to lock them up anyway when they were good simply because they weren't useful anymore? He couldn't believe what he was hearing._

_"...Sir! I don't even think that is legal as of now!...As of now, they are not considered maniacs or threats. They are considered children, and children are not something you can throw avay vonce they have exceeded their uses!" He quickly scolded._

_"...I suppose since you're aggainst the idea...I probably shouldn't tell you it was agreed you be the one to lock him up."_

_And with that one sentence, the world almost crumbled for the doctor. This was just a major kick in the pants. God didn't like him right now, did he?...He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only did they want to lock up the children for good, but they wanted HIM to do it. It was probably because the kids trust him and would believe him so he could lure them into a trap. He found that just sinister and cruel. He wouldn't have it._

_"...sir...How can you even ask me to do something like that?" He asked, a crushed tone lining his voice._

_"...they trust you, Otto. They'd take one look at anyone else and ask you if they could be trusted."_

_"You expect me to take advantage of the children like that?"_

_"There is one other option someone pitched."_

_"Vhat is that?"_

_"The D.I.P."_

_Otto's heart almost stopped._

_"...ze...ze D.I.P? Sir, that was outlawed decades ago!"_

_"...true...but studios were granted rights to keep it on hand in case of an emergancy "getting rid of a toon"...would you rather we do that?"_

_Otto couldn't believe what he was hearing as he sank back down into the chair. He tried to analyze this one more time. They were instructing him to lure the children to the Water Tower from his home, due to the fact they slept over there mostly now, and lock them up in there forever because the studio had no use for them, and if he didn't they would kill off the children with the only possible source that COULD kill them. He basically had to choose between never seeing the kids he grew to see as his own again, them not trusting him ever again if he did see them again, or them getting killed...it wasn't a hard choice to make...but it internally tore him apart._

_"...Vhy didn't you argue? You like them too. They vere so vell behaved in the last few episodes..."_

_"I KNOW, Otto, I know...But you know as well as I do I can't argue against the board. Me VS the entire Board. Who do __**you **__think would win?" Mr. Plotz asked depressingly, looking back out the window to what Otto could now see was the Warner Brother's Water Tower in dismay._

_The Dr. slowly settled from from his anger. It seemed that this decision killed Thaddues as much as it killed him. It seemed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter and he couldn't argue with the stubborn ideals of almost a dozen selfish, greedy board members. The reluctant Dr and CEO knew there was no way of stopping it. The Warners had to go...as much as it hurt._

_"...Vhen do I need to...?"_

_"...they want it done tonight..."_

_The Dr. quickly got up and stormed to the door. Mr. Plotz didn't stop him, aware of how angry he was. _

_"...Couldn't the kiddies say goodbye to evervone first?"_

_"...Just let them know we're all going to miss them..."_

_"How am I going to explain vhy they need to be locked up then?"_

_"...just give it to 'em straight, Otto...they'll understand."_

_Otto stopped at the door, fully enraged._

_"...Sir, they vill not understand. They are children. Yakko vill turn thirteen tomorrow, and the two little ones are only 8 and 7. How are __**they **__going to understand? Do you realize they will never trust anyone again if, and vhen, they ever escape? Me especially if I'm still alive by then?"_

_"They won't escape, Otto...go to your house to get the kids. I have sent something that will ensure they never escape...you won't have any distrust over your head...I promise you." The man sadly told him._

_In slight disbelief and frustration, Otto shook his head and left, slamming the door behind him. Inside, Mr Plotz shook a bit before returning to his desk. Otto barely heard the CEO crying as he entered the elevator._

_~~End Depressing Flashback~~_

And here he was now, at his desk in his home home, contemplating over his flashback. Sitting at his desk, he was reading the note in his hand for the third time before glancing at the strange object on his desk; it looked like an ordinary combination lock, but the numbers were replaced by symbols surrounding the knob, and according to the note, it wasn't normal.

_"Dear Dr. Otto von Scratchandsniff,_

_By now, I have instructed you to lock the Warners away forever._

_You are probably wondering how you are going to lock them away forever when simply closing it has done no good._

_Included with this letter is a padlock. It looks like a normal padlock, but I've been assured it's no ordinary lock. This lock was used to seal away the Warners many, many years ago. It has a special magic attatched to it that keeps anything it locks frozen in time. But the lock is inside the Water Tower-don't try to make too much sense out of that-and had a really crummy combination. Some maintanence man went inside to do some repairs and undid the lock when he found it, thinking it was to something else. This released the Warners. _

_Listen carefully. I need you to take the Warners to the Tower, pretending absolutely nothing is wrong and that you just want to set up a surprise for them for tomorrow and that they have to sleep in the tower tonight. Stay with them until they fall asleep. When they do, tuck them in, and they find the lock pad amrked with yellow and blue. You'll see it, trust me. Put the lock in and snap it, then get out of there and close and lock up the Water Tower. And if they don't go to sleep at all, I've told you earlier what to say if you absolutely have to explain the situation to them..._

_After that, go home and forget everything about the Warners. _

_In case you accidentally lock it before using it to lock the Warners, here's the combination;_

_"Sparrow, Rocket, Star, Rocket, Sparrow, Flower" starting going counterclockwise."_

Glancing up, he noticed the markings on the padlock; a sparrow, a rocket, a star, a flower, a rainbow, and a teardrop.

_"Look, Otto, I know it hurts to let them go, but this really is the best option out of the two we have. At least this gives them a chance to accidentally be set free somewhere in the future. Think; future kids in 3000 or something will find them and they'll be accepted into a society with hoverboots for them to run around it._

_The staff have already been informed. It hurts us all except the board. The Warners will be missed and they know there isn't any other way. You're not the only one hurting, Otto._

_Sighed, Mr. Thaddeus Plotz_

_PS. I'm sorry"_

Somehow, Dr. Scratchandsniff doubted that.

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><p><em>How depressing. T~T<em>_...and abrupt...and short. The Warners weren't even IN this chapter! XD_

_Oh, well. Not to worry my friends! The Warners will be the first thing mentioned in the next chappie, I promise thee!_

_Anywho, let me know what ya think, let me know if I did Dr. Scratchy and Mr. Plotz ok...ya know, considering it's a needlessly sad scene, and I'll try to get Prolouge: Part 2 out later. ^^_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Mr. Plotz, Scratchy, the Warners, or WB studios._

_I do however own the...douchy...board members...I guess...cx I order them to be douches because it's the best explination for a reseal I got. x3 Enjoy my lazy lock-up explination. x3_


	2. Prolouge Part 2

_Thanks a lot to those who reviewed! Poor Scratchy...he has to give up 'his' kids AND I kept spelling his name wrong, apparently. XD "Scratchansniff" not "Scratchandsniff". x3 No D. Shows what not doing your research will do. x3_

_Anywho, disclaimers._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Scratchansniff, Yakko, Wakko, Dot, or any other WB character you see in this story, in this chapter, the previous chapter, or the following chapters. _

_For the record, this will be the second to last disclaimer I will be showing. In the chapter after this, I will give out one more disclaimer. After that, I'm done. You're smart people. I'm assuming you can tell I am not affilliated with Warner Brother Studios and I do not intend to make any money off of this. I'm just doing this to entertain myself and you guys...and if I WERE with them and I WAS gonna make money off of this, this would NOT take as little time as it does...XD_

_Aaaaaand with all that nonsense out of the way, enjoy the show. _

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><p>Dr. Scratchansniff jumped in startlement when he heard something stir from over yander. He immediatly looked up and his heart sank. He'd almost forgotten the Warners were sleeping there tonight. Dispite the fact it was only 7:30, they had had a pretty tiring day. They'd gotten up earlier than usual and dragged Scratchy to the beach. The beach always somehow made them sleepy, as it usually made anyone sleepy, but when he had left to see the CEO after dinner, they had continued playing...and apparently passed out while he was away, so he tucked them in for now.<p>

The three Warner siblings lay peacefully on the long, comfortable psyciatrist couch. The couch leaned up against the wall so the child on the right side of the couch wouldn't fall off. Perched against the wall was the smallest of the three children, Dot Warner, snuggled against her eldest brother under the dark red, almost brown, blanket. Her real name was a name I'm sure we all know well...but nobody really called her that to begin with. "Dot" just became the first name to everyone. The dark, adorable puppy creature had her arms close to her chest, her head perked on her brother's chest.

To the oldest's left, on the side away from the wall, was the middle child, Wakko Warner. The middle, most wakky puppy creature, still garbed in his red hat and blue turtleneck while his siblings wore PJ's, was tucked under his brother's arm and also had his head perched up on his brother's chest under the blanket. It was almost weird seeing him to calm...or asleep at all. His thin, cat's tail hung off the side and slowly swayed from side to side every now and that.

And the eldest, Yakko Warner, wearing a PJ top and wearing the same brown pants while his sister just wore a nightgown, was sandwiched inbetween his two younger siblings, arms around his siblings almost protectivly, as if he would wake up and bite if anyone dared to penetrate his sheild. Sleeping peacefully, he didn't seem to mind his baby siblings were using his chest as a pillow. After all, there was limited room on the couch anyway.

The sight made Scratchansniff's heart sink into his stomache. He sighed and scooted his chair closer to his desk, glancing over the note in his hand. He didn't want to do this, but it looked like the best option out of the others he had. It was either allow them to be D., let them be throw into an orphanage to be adopted by people who didn't get them or to be treated god knows how for god knows how long, or do this. He didn't like any of the options, but this seemed to be the best. He tried to find a posative...

...well...nobody could hurt them inside the Water Tower...yeah. That's all he had.

"What'cha doin', Scratchy?"

Scratchansniff cried out slightly and stood up quickly in fright at the sound of the voice, but calmed down a little when he looked over and saw Yakko next to him, rubbing his eyes slightly as he yawned a bit. Releasing a sigh of releif, Scratchy quickly hid the item, the note, and another stray peice of paper by accident in his pockets before sitting down again.

"...oh, Yakko...you startled me..."

Yakko shrugged mildly.

"By now, everything does that..." The puppy muttered sleepily.

Scratchy released a reluctant, fake laugh.

"...of course...perhaps I need a different coffee..."

"You're already on decafe...all that's left is tea..." Yakko muttered in the same tone.

Scratchy didn't respond and simply stood back up to make a beeline around the table, heading over to the couch. Yakko was right on his heels. While Scratchy sat down, Yakko crawled over Wakko and got back under the covers and in between his baby siblings. Scratchy watched Yakko almost proudly run his gloved fingers through his sister's fur, if unconsciously. Scratchy just couldn't take his eyes off of the three little puppies, hoping the only conscious one couldn't see his sadness. He had to admit when they finally, FINALLY calmed down and actually acted like normal kids, they were rather innocent. He really wished he knew what things were like for them before they were locked in the water tower for fifty years...after a few minutes, he perished the thought. Soon, he felt Yakko's eyes go to him.

"...ya thinkin' about somethin', Scratchy?" He asked curiously, sounding a little less tired.

Otto swiftly looked up to him, shaking his head side to side.

"O-Oh, no, Yakko...I am fine." The Dr. whispered so as not to wake the littlest and middle child. just yet.

Yakko nodded, but an eyeridge raised at his nervous tone. Otto quickly recovered and looked up to Yakko with a smile...however fake.

"Um...Yakko? Isn't tomorrow your birthday?" He whispered again.

He was internally a little sad to see the boy sit up swiftly, jostling his siblings as he nodded swiftly with big eyes. They both heard the disturbed children groan and grunt a bit as their heads swiftly hit the couch. Jostled awake, the two rose from their spots on the couch and both yawned, stretching. While Wakko simply fell against his brother tiredly, Dot rubbed her eyes in annoyance, glaring at her brother in equal annoyance.

"...thanks for the wake up call..." She muttered in annoyance.

Yakko stuck his tongue out at her as he felt his brother lean against him lazily.

"You mind your tongue, missy. I'm gonna be 13 tomorrow, which means I'll OFFICIALLY be a teenager. Which means I'll be old and I'll get to boss you around more." He teased her.

Dot just folded her arms and turned her shoulder to him.

"You can't boss ME around..." She grumbled, still a little annoyed she was woken up long before she should have.

Scrachty gently patted her head to calm the little girl down.

"Now, Dot, lets not get like this at this hour..."

Yakko glanced at the wall clock, and was quite shocked at the time.

"...it's only 7:30." He muttered, amazed they passed out before 8.

"Yes, I know..." Scratchy looked up suddenly. "...kids, may I ask you a favor?"

Yakko and Dot looked to him while Wakko fell into Yakko's lap lazily, curling up in his lap as Yakko and Dot nodded.

"The, um...birthday party needs to start early tomorrow, so I need to get everything set up tonight vith Hello Nurse..." He rolled his eyes upon seeing Yakko's tail slap against the couch, a stupid, love-struck grin plastered to his face. "...so, I vas vondering if you might be villing to sleep in the Vater Tower tonight..."

The kids nodded while Wakko muttered in half sleep. Yakko glanced down at him and shook him a bit.

"Wakko, wake up!"

Wakko grumbled and groaned, pushing his brother away so he'd stop as he sat up on his own...however reluctantly.

"...I'm tired..." He grunted to his brother in annoyance.

"Not to worry, oh brother of little brain and much stomach. We just need to take a trip over to the Water Tower and then you can pass out and sleep until Christmas if you want to." Yakko laughed jokingly, not knowing that, much to the Dr.'s dismay, it was more than likely going to actually happen.

This reality hurt the Dr., but he dare not let it show. He instead allowed Yakko climb off of the couch and pick his too-tired-to-move brother into his arms, Dot jumping off as well. Scratchy picked up the blanket and folded it a bit, heading for the door.

"Come along, now. Lets us be on our vay." He said, opening the door and holding it open for them.

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><p><em><strong>(10 minutes later)<strong>_

In a short amount of time, they'd made it to the Water Tower. It wasn't unusual for people to be in at this hour, but Yakko was used to seeing more people around...at least Ralph or some janitor, but it didn't appear there was a soul in sight. He'd questioned Scratchy about this, but all he said was that they were busy getting stuff for the party tomorrow. Yakko quickly bought it and continued carrying his tired brother to their main home. Dot climbed up herself and Scratchy assisted Yakko in carrying Wakko up the ladder. Scratchy quickly opened the tower door and they all stepped in. Yakko and Dot raced for their bunk bed as Scratchy kindly took Wakko from Yakko to put him on the middle bunk where he slept. Yakko slipped into his bed on the bottom while Dot climbed up to the top. Scratchy gently laid Wakko down on the middle bunk, laying his hatted head down on the bed and covering him with the blanket. He grabbed the blanket and curled up in it, snuggling against the pillow. Scratchy smiled slightly, turned on the lamp on the nightstand next to them and crouched down to Yakko's level as the puppy was getting comfortable into bed.

"Now, is there anything you need to help you get back to sleep?" He asked kindly.

Yakko thought how to abuse this opportunity for a moment before responding.

"Sure. Cookies would be nice."

This caused Wakko to mutter slightly, "...c-cookies? I love cookies...I want cookies." His tone got a little louder as the sound of cookies woke him up.

Scratchy was happy to oblige.

"Alright, then. Vait right here."

Yakko just grinned as he watched Scratchy go into the kitchen. (Which begs the question; how does a small water tower have more than one room?) He heard Scratchy open a cabinet for the cookie jar and heard a thud. But his grin vanished when Scratchy came back with the glass cookie jar unharmed.

"...There's supposed to be an anvil dent in your head." He pouted.

Scratchy just shook his head as he sat down, opening the jar and taking out a few cookies.

"I know." Was all he said as he handed a cookie to Yakko, another to the slightly more awake Wakko, and tossed another up to Dot so Wakko wouldn't eat it. He probably would have if he'd passed his and Dot's cookies at the same time.

Yako playfully pouted as he bit into his chocolate chip cookie.

"Anything else?" The P-Syciastrist asked gently, putting the cookie jar on the nightstand.

Yakko thought for a moment, thinking of one other thing he could get out of him. Before he could speak, though, Dot piped up.

"Tell us a bedtime story!" She called down.

Her brothers quickly agreed, repeating her order about 4 times before Scratchy laughed and went to the bookshelf over yander.

"Alright, alright. Vone moment..."

The three kids grinned to each other, waiting for their father figure to fall into their playful trap. But he moved to the side, then took the book he was looking for out of his spot. At that moment, an anvil fell from nowhere right next to him. Coming back, he grinned at the kids pouting in defeat.

"Shoot." They all muttered.

The Dr. just laughed, opening up the storybook to one of the stories. He looked for a suitible one to read...one the kids would remember in case Scratchy was dead by the time they got out next time. Finally, he landed on one story called, "The Time Capsule".

"...Vhat about this vone?"

Yakko shrugged.

"Why not?"

Scratchy nodded and sat up straight, clearing his throat to make sure Dot and Wakko could hear. Once he was sure, he began.

"'A long time ago, in a strange time only known as the year 1925, a young boy named Thomas vas always fascinated by time travel. He often dreamed of making a time machine and going into the distant future to see vhat the vorld vould become.'

"Not knowing, of course, it would become a democratically run rat-hole by the 1980's." Yakko chuckled, causing his siblings to laugh.

He had no idea Scratchy was paining every second of this as he scooted close to Yakko, who peered over to read as the two little ones jumped down to the bottom bunk to listen better. Scratchy cleared this throat again and continued on, relishing every last moment he had.

"'Thomas vas alvays so busy thinking about the future he didn't think a lot about the present. He often neglected his parents, family, and friends to focus on his studies so he could vone day build a time machine. One day, Thomas vas bicycling home from school vhen suddenly a car came out of novhere and Thomas barely swerved out of the vay. Thomas accidentally rode into a dense forest, vhere he fell off of his bike and hit his head, passing out. Vhen he voke up the next morning, he tried to find his vay back home only to find out it vas the year 1978. He valked around town and everyvone seemed to recognize him. By now, all of his friends vere old, married, and by now had grandkids. Some vere even dead. Frightened, he tried to find his parents only to find his father became a shrivled up old prune after his mother passed avay after he vent missing and vas reported as dead. He never talked to him vhen he heard this. He vas too frightened to face him. He tried to find safety in his friends, but they vere all so different vithout him around in the present. Eventually, he had no choice but to go to his father for solice. And vhen he finally faced his father, he found he really vas a bitter old prune. But vhen the man saw his son for the first time in decades, he just told his son to come give him a hug. Thomas did and they both cried. Thomas asked, 'Dad, are you mad at me?' He just asked, 'Vhat for?' 'Vell...Mom died because everyone thought I died...are you mad at me?' His father just shook his head. 'Son, I'm just happy to see you alive. I vas never mad at you and I missed you every second you vere gone'. They both embraced and cried as Thomas' vision became blurry. A few seconds later be blacked out, then voke up in a hospital, his same old mother and father hovering over him, happy to see he's finally come to. He jumped up and hugged them both, repeating, 'I love you both!' over and over again. 'Ve love you, too, Thomas!' The father finally admitted he vas the vone who almost ran him over, as he vas just coming out of the tunnul and could not see. Thomas only said, 'I am just happy to be alive!' From that day forth, he promised to alvays live in the moment and focus on his family and friends, as vell as his studies. He vent to the movies with his friends 2 days later after he got out of the hospital.  
>Thomas eventually grew up, got married to a friend of his named Sue, and had three children. He promised to alvays teach them that family vas an important thing in life because..." He flipped the page, which showed the moral in big, bold letters. It killed him. "...time vill change a lot of things, and even take people avay from you, but love and family is something that never, ever dies no matter vhat. THE END." He finally breathed as he closed the book.<p>

By then, he looked over and saw Dot and Wakko were both asleep, cuddled up against each other on his pillow. Yakko was leaning against his, having apparently fallen asleep as well. He wasn't sure if he'd bored them to sleep or if he'd honestly done a good job. Either way, they were asleep and he could get his stupid job done then complain about it. He gently closed the book and put it on the nightstand next to the cookie jar. He then looked back to the little ones. He slowly stood, taking Yakko into his hands and laying him down next to his siblings, Dot squishing in the middle. Once he did, the puppy's arm instinctivly twisted and went over his siblings. Scratchy pet his fur gently one more time before grabbing the blanket from Wakko's bed and gently sprawled it over the little puppy bodies. He sat down one more time, deciding to take another 5 minutes to think about what he should do. Every fiber of his being told him to just turn out the light, leave them to sleep, then tell everyone he would not be following the CEO's orders and to get their butts in gear for Yakko's birthday tomorrow. But...what would become of the Warners if he did? For all he knew, Yakko might not make it past thirteen if he did that. This was a sure-fire way to keep them safe, dispite his reluctance.

So with a heavy heart, he stood back up to find the place to lock the padlock and leave the kids frozen. However, he felt a hand tug on his sleeve. He looked down and found Yakko's gloved hand was clentched tight on his sleeve, his eyes barely open. Scratchy sighed and sat down.

"...Vhat is it, Yakko?"

"...I-I was just...I was just thinkin'...since the show's over...and we're hangin' out more often anyway...are you gonna be, like...our dad now?" He asked gently, still very tired.

Scratchy didn't answer. He honestly didn't know what to tell the puppy without telling him the truth...or flat out lying to him. He wanted to avoid both.

"...go to sleep, Yakko."

Yakko eventually let go and just closed his eyes, curling his arm protectivly over his siblings. Scratchy sighed, pet him one more time, then got up. He aimed for the kitchen to start looking, but as he reached the door, he looked back to the bed to make sure they'd gone to sleep. Upon hearing and seeing no movement from the puppies, he sighed and walked into the kitchen.

After 10 minutes of searching in the kitchen, it wasn't hard to find the strange yellow and blue symbol behind a picture frame. It was obvious the kids knew what this thing did and wanted to ignore its existance. Behind the picture frame featuring the three puppies in an annoyed Scratchy's arms, was a strange, flower shaped symbol. The petals were a bright, plain blue, and the middle was a bright, golden yellow. Going from one petal to another was a small latch with a slit in it where the ring jutting out of the wall went in to be locked. (I honestly can't describe it well, but just think the lock on any locker in most high schools.) Both were colored plain silvery metal, otherwise uncolored. It was pretty obvious that this was where the lock was supposed to go. But looking back towards the door of the kitchen, Scratchy became very hesitant. Having second, even third and fourth, thoughts, he reached inside his pocket to pull out the note from Thaddeus. Instead he pulled out the stray, blank peice of paper he'd accidentally stuffed in there. Putting the lock down on the counter and drawing the pen he always kept in his other pocket-the left one-he decided it was only fair he leave a note for the Warners when they next woke up. Placing the paper on the counter, he began to write his hefty explination...and apology. Once he was finished, he folded the paper up, wrote "To the Warners. From Scratch" on the front fold, put the the pen's cap back on, and exited the kitchen. He silently took the lid off of the cookie jar, gently placed the note amongst the cookies...swiped a comfort cookie, and put the lid back on gently. He then went back into the kitchen, picking up the still unlocked padlock. He looked back up at the lock...well, he'd already left the note and tucked them into bed one last time...he figured he might as well get it over with. He tightly closed the latch into place, then slid the padlock into the ring...then, with a heavy heart, he closed the lock up. Suddenly, the blue petals started to flicker a brilliant glow. He figured that was his cue to flee. Immediatly, as fast as he could, not minding any noise he made, he raced out past the sleeping puppies and out the door, slamming it shut. All he saw were bright flashes of a brilliant, pink aura seeping through the cracks at a blinding rate. Then...after a few minutes it stopped. He waited for about 10 minutes before he slowly opened the Water Tower door open again.

The tower was now empty and lifeless.

* * *

><p><em>And thus, we end our sad prolouge...<em>

_...not to worry though! Things will get happier as time goes on!...hopefully. x3_

_For the record, I hope you people appreciate the things I do. XD I typed all this-except for everything after "The Time Capsule"-at 2:50 in the morning, I did not have a book to refference, I couldn't exactly get up to find one or my mom would get on my case about not being in bed, I REALLY wanted to get the damn bedtime story out, so...I had to pull "The Time Capsule" completely out of my ass just to get to the meaningful moral. x3_

_That story...is mine. 0w0 And if it exists anywhere else, there was some kind of telepathic wavelegnth or something._

_...also, in the beginning, I WAS gonna make a small joke out of how long Dot's name was, but...it just seemed silly at the time. And while I do try to be a little humerous, this is a mostly serious story. x3_

_Anyway, that's all I have! R+R and let me know what ya'll thought. (I PROMISE THINGS WILL GET A LITTLE HAPPIER. I SWEAR TO THEE WITH GOD, AND MY DOG SITTING NEXT TO ME, AS MY WITNESSES.)_


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